Fluid shortenings are useful in the preparation of baked goods and bread-making processes. The function of fluid shortenings is similar to plastic shortenings in baking processes, but fluid shortenings are much preferred for use in commercial baking process due to their ease in handling, pumping, and metering.
In prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,259, to Max E. Norris and assigned to assignee of the present application, there is disclosed a fluid shortening which contains by weight about 4 to 14 parts of soft mono- and diglycerides, 2 to 8 parts of ester emulsifier, 0 to 8 parts of solid stearine, and at least about 40 parts of liquid vegetable oil. The fluid shortening is a stabilized dispersion in vegetable oil and is produced by melting a blend of the components at temperatures sufficient to force a melt, votating the blend at temperatures of about 82.degree. to 86.degree. F, and then stehling the votated mixture to obtain substantially 100 percent conversion to the stable beta-polymorphic form. The fluid shortening of this patent has the advantage, among others, that it possesses a stabilized fluid consistency the viscosity of which remains relatively constant over a wide temperature range.
One problem is that it may be desirable in certain instances to save on shipping costs by shipping only the emulsifier components and other shortening ingredients absent the vegetable oil to a point of further processing where such components or ingredients then may be blended into the vegetable oil. Such different points of further processing, however, may not possess the stehling equipment and capabilities necessary to permit further processing. Alternatively, it may be desirable to ship the emulsifier components absent the vegetable oil to a point of use where the emulsifier components are added directly to a comestible mixture, such as a bread or dough mix.
Thus, one object of the present invention is to provide an emulsifier concentrate which is stable and can be stored and shipped, and which at the same time can be readily blended with a liquid edible oil, such as a vegetable or animal derived oil, to provide a fluid shortening, without the necessity of subsequent stehling. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an emulsifier concentrate which, when blended with a liquid vegetable oil, or when added directly to a comestible mixture, provides all of the functionalities normally required of a shortening.
It is known to provide an emulsifier concentrate having more than one emulsifying ingredient, as different emulsifiers have different functionalities. United States patent No. 3,785,993, to Roy Kenneth Langhans, discloses a clear emulsifier composition said to be useful for yeast-raised products. The composition comprises a glycerol partial ester as a softener, a polyoxyethylene ester of a glycerol, hexitol, hexitan or isohexide as a conditioner, and propylene glycol, water, ethanol or an edible oil as a clarifying agent. The patent does not disclose or suggest the preparation of a fluent emulsifier suspension or concentrate which has a solid phase emulsifier component therein. A similar disclosure is contained in Langhans U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,445.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,736, to Bert W. Landfried, discloses an emulsifier composition containing mono- and diglycerides combined with a fatty acid lactylate. In an example, stearyl-2 lactylic acid was melted with glyceryl mono stearate at a temperature of 70.degree. C, and water at 50.degree. C was then added to the melt and stirred to form an oil and water emulsion. This was cooled to become a firm plastic solid. The patent does not suggest nor teach the preparation of a fluent concentrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,799, to Ralph J. Tenney, teaches the preparation of a hydrated admixture containing 20-80% water, an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of the acyl lactylates of C.sub.14 -C.sub.22 fatty acids and ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides of the C.sub.14 -C.sub.22 fatty acids. It is indicated that these admixtures are prepared by heating the acyl lactylate salts and the ethoxylated mono- and di-glycerides at 60.degree. C until the lactylate salts melt followed by addition of 60.degree. C water and cooling to form a plastic solid. As with United States patent No. 3,180.736, there is no suggestion nor teaching in this patent of the preparation of a fluent concentrate.